20 October 2014 - Protests End with Violence

Three protests took place. The last, by Preah Vihear Province land evictees, ended when protesters splashed water on government security guards and they responded with clubs and high voltage stun devices, chasing terrorized men, women, and children several hundred meters. To make matters worse, riot police then chased, albeit non-violently, protesters for nearly a mile, past the National Assemble and the Australian Embassy. Later a government spokesman is reported to have made absurd unsupported claims that the splashed water contained acid and the protesters were inciting sedition. He did not explain why untrained and undisciplined security guards were deployed with clubs and stun devices.